The Wheel of Time cast spills new season 2 details and spoilers!

Egwene will have an “identity crisis” in The Wheel of Time season 2

Next up we have some quotes from Madeleine Madden, who plays Egwene. Season 2 will feature a prominent plotline from the second Wheel of Time book, The Great Hunt, where Egwene and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) go to the White Tower to train under the Aes Sedai. Despite fighting off a horde of Trollocs in season 1, Egwene and Nynaeve will be starting at the bottom of the totem pole in the tower as novices.

Madden said that Egwene is “a novice of the world” in more ways than one. “She’s ever the eager learner and has always got an open mind,” the actor explains, which is an “integral” aspect to embody when playing the character. But season 2 will challenge Egwene in new ways.

"Something that I learned from Egwene going into season 2 is really her resilience. The resilience she had to carry on, to push forward, to strive for greatness and to play her part in the turning of the Wheel. Even when we find her in season 2 and she is feeling insecure and having a bit of an identity crisis, I think that is still at the heart of what she is seeking out."

So both Egwene and Moiraine are going to be tapping into their resilient sides this season, which I’m sure can only mean good things are on the way for them both. Rotten Tomatoes‘ interviewer Perri Nemiroff asked Madden to expand on Egwene’s “identity crisis” in particular, asking about the root of the “jealousy” the character has in season 2.

“She’s very much an idealist and I think she had an expectation of what the White Tower would be like and how she would be accepted there,” Madden responded.

"The way that Nynaeve is moving up the ranks so effortlessly is really infuriating to her because she’s trying everything she can, she’s sort of desperate to impress and do the right thing. And you know, she’s just really just become invisible. I think that, for her, having her confidence and her self-worth rocked is a massive blow to her. And you know, this is where her relationship with Elayne is so important, because she’s someone that helps her build her confidence back up, is a really great confidante. And this is something that we’ll see with Egwene constantly throughout this season, is she is constantly trialed and tested. Her strength is tested and she gains a better understanding of her abilities. And also her ideas of the White Tower and what that means to her changes dramatically."

This is probably the most we’ve seen an actor from the White Tower sequence talk about the interplay between the characters. Nynaeve is an incredibly powerful channeler in the novels, something which the show has built up even more through events like her miraculously saving Lan’s life during the fourth episode of season 1. Apparently that’s going to cause friction between her and Egwene.

Lan will fight a Fade in The Wheel of Time season 2 premiere

Meanwhile, Daniel Henney talked about how season 2 represents a “formative period” for the warder Lan. Whenever we’ve seen him before, he and Moiraine presented a relatively unified front. Henney teased some tough times ahead, saying that he and Rosamund Pike focused a lot on the “push-pull” of their relationship in the wake of .

“It’s always tricky because we built a foundation of these two characters in season 1. It was very calm and it was very even,” Henney explained. “When this disaster sort of started, it was different for both of us. That’s kind of a vague answer but we’re happy with how it turned out.”

"I’m very excited for people to see this solo journey that he went on, because I think it’s almost like a formative period for Lan…you know his parents being killed, spent so much time with Moiraine…he hasn’t had a chance to be on his own as a man. And this is a chance for him to ask questions, to be with his fellow warders, to be with people he hasn’t been with much and that really changes a person so it’s exciting."

The conversation then took an interesting turn, with the interviewer asking about a specific scene in The Wheel of Time season 2 premiere where Lan fights a Fade near the end of the episode. This isn’t something that was widely known before this interview dropped, so naturally it made my ears perk up.

"That one was incredibly challenging, because two swords is very daunting. I mean, my left hand is nowhere nearly as skillful as my right, and to move them in concert is almost impossible. Not to mention it was dark, plus…I spoke about this before, that fight was meant to be messy. And making something look messy is much more difficult than making something look good. So that’s almost like you have to take it apart after you perfect it and…dissect it and make it look worse. So it was very, very challenging but hopefully it turned out okay."

This is a fascinating spoiler for The Wheel of Time season 2 premiere. Lan will fight a Fade while wielding two swords. Best start getting prepared now for that “messy” duel.